If you have equipment that uses compressed air (CA) as an energy source, you will understand my frustrations with how poorly we manage this hazardous energy source. Typically, compressed air is provided via a plant-wide header system with drops for machine/equipment. These drops will then use a hose to deliver the compressed air to the machine/equipment, much like my picture below. Unfortunately, the vast majority of LOTO procedures for these machines/equipment are done poorly when it comes to isolating the compressed air.
Compressed air is a simple but unique form of energy that can be easily isolated, verified ZES, and prevented from re-accumulating; however, most compressed air systems are built cheaply and archaically, making the simple task of LOTO much more difficult than it needs to be, especially in the 21st Century! Shown below is a picture of how most CA systems built:
- Isolation valve is a 1/4 turn ball valve (red box)
- Water/oil filter (with drain port) (yellow circle)
- Pressure gauge (green box)
In order to lock this energy source out correctly with this setup we must: